How The Binding of Isaac Was Made and Designed to Fail 

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Edmund: "The game was designed to fail." Well congratulation! You failed successfully.

What a legend, instead of suing Antibirth modder creators, he made a partnership with them and they worked together to make another game, Edmund is one of the best game creators of the whole world...

When he said “designed to fail” I thought he meant getting into the curse room with one heart and then getting hit by a spider.

Isaac is still the game that I got the most time for my money in my life. For the price the number of hours I've played is huge

The binding of Isaac had such a huge impact on my relationship with one of my older brothers. I didn’t have many memories of him when I was younger due to him being an addict at the time but besides some of the traumas that I associated with him, I can still vaguely remember sitting on my grandmas pullout bed taking turns with him playing wrath of the lamb, fast forward to now with repentance being released and him being about 3 and a half years clean from multiple hard substances, we’ve reintroduced a special moment of our relationship and bonded over playing repentance together, with a better relationship and both clean mindsets, just like we once did with wrath of the lamb 7-8 years ago.

4:29 I think he did a great job with the "Mind of its own" part, whenever I play TBOI it truly feels like the game is purposefully trying to make me cry.

Edmund is a treasure I got Tears Up at that last clip

Edmund: *Takes a risk so hilariously big it's not meant to be taken seriously* Market: Sucess! Edmund: Wait, it worked?! Market: *Turns successfully taken risk into payout* Edmund: OH GOD OH FUCK IT WORKED

His plan backfired so hard he got rich from it

The fact that Edmund gets emotional when speaking of a child that would wait for a game he developed to come out and then even skip school to play it because he/she loves it so much is so wholesome, and speaks for itself.

It's crazy how old rebirth is, I started playing it in middleschool, and now I'm graduating high-school and still play it almost every day

2:19 Glad to see that the "Fuck You" cloud came back in Repentance.

Of course Northernlion would appear in this. The egg breathes Isaac.

Edmund: Iam going to make a roguelike game that is destined to flop! Also Edmund: accidenatally makes one of the biggest and complex rogulike games ever. *Ooops*

you know I'm really glad Isaac blew up. Made me smile and smile knowing this guy and his creative dreams are liked by thousands of people.

I just hope we get The Karting of Isaac next

Wow, i tried to search the history of this game development on youtube weeks ago, but mostly popular game content is guides/ingame story explaining. Finally some light shining on concept and development! Hooray

Edmund is such a great human being. Even growing up in such harsh conditions by his family, he manages to use his past experience in his works and to help people, and truly knows that what he is doing helps people the way it has. Bravo.

"having a mother kill her son for god would damage Nintendo's kid friendly image" *sips coffee while browsing through Switch's eshop* Times sure have changed.

Don't forget that TBOI also became a launch title for the Nintendo switch, and got unique box art to go with it.

That was an unexpectedly INCREDIBLE video. I've been playing Isaac for 6 years and a lot of things you mentioned I didn't know and its very interesting. Reminder that there will be an update soon that reworks The Void floor and Delirium!

Edmund didn't mean the game was actually designed to fail. He just meant that he made the game against the status quo which was set by other successful games before it (AAA games, MMOs, Etc.). While it is still unexpected that Isaac has become a great success, Edmund didn't make it with the intention to not do well.

I love how the motivation of adding more to the game was his wife loving the game. It's a sweet story actually. And I'm glad that The Binding of Isaac was such a huge success. It's a great game and deserves all the praise it's gotten.

It's funny because without knowing it, he included several elements that make rogue games successful. He added a rogue mechanic that never let's you get bored in the game, added deep lore and a disturbing story to add to the ambient, added simple gameplay (slowly timed bullet hell), and his signature art style along with good music. The reason the game was successful was because he added elements that made it player friendly but also elements that would make it repetitive without getting boring, and lore to back up the items, places, and overall story. He was making the perfect rogue game, he just simply focused on the smaller but we'll made stuff that some rogue games don't have, since some focus on the expansion and cool graphics

Edmund: I wanna create a game that is intended to fail DM: Okay, roll a D20 Edmund: *Rolls a natural 1*

The BOI is one of those games that I'd never play myself (because I'd get too frustrated with it), but I love watching other people play it and hearing about how all the work that went into making it, so I'm super glad that you made a whole video for it! It was a fun and informative watch!

Dude when the algorithm hits you it will hit you hard your channel will blow up so much all thanks to the dedication and passion that you put into these videos. Keep up the great work and I wish you the best of luck!

Awesome and very interesting video when Edumund talked about how he felt about being a game developer, it struck me because i felt like I was the kid, I started playing Isaac when I was 14 and since then never stopped playing it and being inspired by it.

I see the mistake, the "Fail" value accidentally incremented over 256, and rolled over to 0.

It’s a good day when ThatGuyGlen posts.

The binding of Isaac was the first game I'd played through completely, enjoyed the entire time and still play to this day. I fell in love with this franchise in 2011 and it's been a huge inspiration for me as im a story writer myself. and what Edmund said about a kid staying up all night to play his game that he made and missing school the next day, yea that's actually happened with me.

Your videos are so passionate, I love it.

Damn, the interview clip at the end made me get emotional as well. Edmund is just a really great guy.

so glad to see you cover this game

Man, 10 years have passed since the Flash game?

in 2012 i was 7 or so and didn't know much english and i mostly obsessed over the game because i related so much to isaac huh

This is literally the reason you need to have a strong community because this game would be dead without it. Many RU-vidrs wouldn’t have gotten the popularity they’ve gotten now. Keep in mind, this is an indie game btw. Take notes EA, Activision, and Nintendo

I clicked faster than me dying on hard mode of repentance.

I love how northernlion is unarguably the king of Isaac on youtube

I’ve been hearing about Binding of Issac for a while now, but after watching this I think I’m finally gonna pick it up. Great video as always!!

Edmund: let's design it to fail. Northernlion: I'mma bought to make this game my whole career.

I really want to buy all dlcs of The Binding Of Isaac on my birthday! And it's gonna happen really soon!

"You can't hear images" Danny : Yo, check this out

wow i nearly teared up at the end such a great way to end this video

This game is the reason why i search constantly for rogue like games. The randomness keeps you coming back

Quality content about a quality game.

Issac has had such an impact on my life. I’ve been playing since elementary school and now I am towards the tail end of my junior year. I have taken breaks but I have never really stopped playing and I never will. I love this game more than any other.

Edmun: Starts a small project Universe: Congratulations, this now is your best game

Hey Glen, amazing video, once again!! Isaac still is one of the best Indie games I've ever played, and you're doing it justice with your video :) I have one suggestion for a new video, although I'm not sure how well known the game is internationally. It's called "Edna & Harvey: The Breakout", it's a Point & Click game from Germany. Its creator Poki originally made it as a diploma project, almost completely on his own, but it was such an amazing game that he started selling it, and it became one of the most known and popular p&c games in Germany. What made it special is that there are no generic answers when trying to interact with or combine items, there was a unique line for EVERYTHING. Internationally it got really bad Reviews however since the translation was pretty bad, some of the jokes were lost, and the graphics were pretty ugly back then. Although now they made an anniversary edition which fixes all of these things. Later he co-founded Daedalic Entertainment, which published his work, and created another game series that got extremely popular in Germany (and also internationally to some extent), namely Deponia. I'm not sure how much info there is about Poki and the development of Edna & Harvey on the internet, let alone in English, but maybe it'd be enough for a (Mini-) episode? But I'd understand too if this wasn't relevant too you since probably no one in this community would be interested in watching a "How it was made" about some foreign game they never heard of, haha. Anyway, thanks for making it that far! And thank you for your great content!

Isaac has been the most important video game in mine and my girlfriends relationship. As soon as I showed her binding of Isaac in 2016 she was hooked and we have been such huge fans and its brought us closer in a way! And given this is the only game she plays besides Gungeon, she is an absolute beast and still gets so excited at neat synergies lol

I like the idea that the original characters D&D classes. Never thought of that, but it makes sense. Explains why Judas is such a glass cannon and Maggie such a tank.

The algorithm has blessed you! This came up in my recommended! Keep pushing!

I just found you yesterday and I really have to say: Thank you. Not that you just covered a bunch of my favourite indie games, it's really interesting to look behind those processes and learn about the people behind those games. Your videos are super informative, high quality and really chill to watch. Keep up the good work. :)

“After a boss Isaac would get a stat-boosting item” Was confused by what a “stat boost” was because it’s been so long since I’ve played Isaac without afterbirth

For something that was ‘meant to fail’, I got countless hours on this game in middle school and early high school, even playing it during class. I took a break, but I’m super hyped to get back into it with Repentance!

"The Binding Of Issac" is the reason i got obsessed with rouge-likes/lites. The amount of creativity in offers is just mind numbing.

This is a really great video, I love the editing. I can't believe you don't have more subscribers yet, keep up the good work!

for a second i thought this vid was about someone angrily ranting about isaac is a bad game

I was waiting for this one!! Excellent vid as always 😍😍

This is amazing! I love how you actually went into detail for this video. Love your videos as always ❤

Can't wait to be chilling in my house in 2030 super hyped for the release of the sequel the next day.

I know I’m late to the party but I felt compelled to share my experience with the game in case anyone watching hadn’t played it yet or were considering buying it. I purchased this game on a whim as my first downloaded game for my brand new Switch back in 2017. I fired it up and after about an hour of play I decided I didn’t like it so I cleared it off my hard drive and basically forgot about it. I was actually pretty irritated because I got buyer’s remorse and felt like I basically threw my money away. More than a year passed (maybe 2) before I decided to give it another shot. Long story short it’s now in my top 3/4 most played games in total hours spent. It’s an incredibly fantastic game with a mind boggling amount of content of which I’ve unlocked less than half of even after all these countless hours of play time. I highly recommend it to anyone. Don’t hesitate, just buy it. You won’t regret it. Heck even if you don’t immediately click with it, I’m confident you will eventually sooner or later like what I went through.

That last interview hit hard, very happy for him and his success. Great indie game developer, love for his fans and games. Nothing but great things to say for Ed.

I'm a Catholic, and a pretty devout one at that, but I love everything this game has brought to the table. The Binding of Isaac is such a creative and necessary critique of Religion (especially Repentence's secret TV boss) and it probably taught me more about the real world as a child than anything else I've encountered in school. I personally think that the Catholic Church, especially in America, is trying to display a good message but is doing it in all of the worst ways possible, and I can personally assure you that we aren't all the same. Might make a video on Isaac since I have a pretty interesting view on it. Thanks for such a great game, McMillen. You fucking rock.

YOOOOO THIS GAME IS A GEM!! Glen, this is amazing! Amazing as always friend!

I am glad that you did a lot of reading from the Gamasutra interview he had. Reading that article was one of the biggest reasons I fell in love with the game, Edmund’s passion to just do what he wanted was so cool.

That last clip was so sweet. I remember how fascinated with Isaac I was back in Middle School. I could go on about the ways that game blew my mind and the immense nostalgia I have for it now. If I ever do create a game some day it’ll be one made with the same philosophy. Made without caring if it’s what’s considered acceptable or popular. Art is art, and it has just as much a right to be beautiful as it does disturbing or weird. Thank you Edmund, you’ve inspired many and I really do hope some day to follow in your footsteps.

What an excellent video. I've only been an Isaac fan for a few months at this point, but I still have several hundred hours in it. I was trying to piece together why I love it so much, and this video made it abundantly clear. This game has really helped me in so many ways, and Edmund is probably the biggest inspiration to me in terms of tempering my creativity. Dude's a legend. Thanks for the vid.

Edmund looked like he was going to cry in that Indie Game The Movie Clip. And he probably did, with the cut in the middle. Best indie dev ever

The Binding of Isaac really inspired a lot of the writing I do in my spare time, and I really thank it for that. This game has unironically changed the course of my life, and I'm surprised to hear that it just originated from a part time project. Fantastic video, man. Really informative and well made.

watching the clip of edmund at the end and seeing him tear up made me want to also. Imagine having something like that that you created and especially having 2 children that like your work also. Guys got a big heart man

Ed: yo here is the future fail ta- Market: success! Ed: i knew- wait what Market: DO MORE Ed: OH GOD OH FUCK

Ah, so you did a video about the game. And still good editing as always!

I stumbled across your channel yesterday, thank you for all the work you put into these. Keep up the great work!

2:14 I just noticed that, beside of beang an old scratch, that draw represent the new floor transition added in repentance

Another banger video Glen keep it up man :D

You should do Ori and The Blind Forest, Battle Block Theater, and Slime Rancher next! :)

Touching documentary. Very well paced and edited.

You're channel is amazing! Great editing and script!

Great quality as always.

I have never played the game myself... But your video is still really good! Keep up the good work!!!

Super impressed with the research done in this. Great watch, & subbed!

That last clip.... at 17, I was that kid. I heard about the original Isaac very early on, right after its release-- every failed run left me wanting to play more in hopes of discovering more. Not only did I get my sister into it, but I managed to 1000% it before Rebirth came out.. and when Rebirth dropped on the Wii U, we could play it on the big screen much more easily. My sister and I have bonded so much over Isaac and its evolution over the years, and with Repentance coming to consoles soon, I feel like we have a fantastic summer ahead of us. It's been almost 10 years since the original Isaac came out. We've both graduated college and started to plan out our lives, but Isaac's still there as something we delight in and draw creative inspiration from. Thank you, Edmund.

NewGrounds’ Law states: “The more outlandish the concept, the more likely people will want more of it”

The Virgin Nintendo -Sues fans for making pieces of appreciation -Only puts specific songs on CD and Vinyl -Hates Fun and acts like their forgotten franchises don’t exist -Rereleases emulations of their games while calling emulators “piracy” -Can only stand on one Super Smash Leg -Was better off making toys VS. The UBER-CHAD Edmund McMillen -Contacts fans and turns their mods into official content -Allows Ridiculon to put all their stuff on whatever they’d like -Learns from mistakes and focuses on fun -Completely remakes games from scratch and lets friends handle games -Has dozens of pillars to hold up his stuff -He has a square beard

That last part about what edmund said really touched me because I am that kid. I remember getting my hands on the game in my 9th grade year and a girl I really liked had rejected me. I had recently acquired a laptop for school work and I saw the game on NL's channel and couldn't put it down for the week it was this game and hotline miami I have to thank for getting me out of a hard time in school.

I'm so glad I found your channel. You make really good, high quality videos!

"Everywhere I go I see his face..." 3:41

1 achieve away from the 1000001% im so grateful to this game and the hours and fun and frustration i have. Ive been with it since beta on PC and watching races on twitch with crumps it's by far my fav game to date.

this video introduced me to your channel, then I checked out your other videos and all I can say is that I love the effort put into them and they're the perfect videos to eat something while watching them and learning about these indie games!

that quote at the end killed me, it really brings it home that Edmund is a really good person who has shared a lot to the world and this game is something that has brought his subconscious to people like me and the fanbase who love this game to death. Its amazing just how much good can there be in a person like edmund mcmillen.

Most underrated gaming youtube channel

I saw the thumbnail and I thought this was going to be a bash against Ed and the series. Glad we won't be having a problem lol.

The effort you put in this videos is crazy. Hope to see more of your content soon :P

Incredible quality video, great job. Suprised this isn't blowing up more.

Edmund would love the latest Daughters album, You Won't Get What You Want.

Edmund's story with religion is a good example of how Catholicism (and religion as a whole) can be a double edged sword. I was raised by a catholic family and even though I felt like everyone at school thought Catholics were narcissistic and condemning; my family was very much the opposite. They taught me the value of helping others and sacrificing oneself for those they love, and forgiving those who don't deserve to be forgiven. The latter took me much longer to understand. I'm glad to see Edmund had a similar experience to me, religion is a wonderful gift but it can be a curse (and an excuse) when the wrong people are pushing it's themes. There are those who use religion as an act of love, and those for acts of hate, and I think this is more important to teach your kids than "believe god, don't question"

Awesome. Also love the outro song... Just an amazing video, game, and developers

Amazing video! So polished! That Indie Game The Movie clip always gets me 😭